Some Interesting Ag Cooperative Facts

The USDA issues a bi-monthly newsletter on the Farm Cooperative industry and the latest issue had some interesting facts:

• Minnesota has the highest number of coops (a distinction held since 1900) with 203.  Texas is second with 187 followed by North Dakota and California.  These numbers are based upon the number of Coops with headquarters in each state, not the total number of locations.
• There are about 2,200 Ag Coops in the USDA database.
• Iowa has the largest amount of total sales with about $22.4 billion with Minnesota just behind at $22 billion.
• Five Midwest states comprise number 1-5 with total dollar volume of about $83 billion.
• Total dollar volume for all 2,200 Coops in the database was about $215 billion.

The Ag Coop industry continues to be an integral part of the American farming industry and should continue this for many more years.  There is a continuing trend of consolidation in the industry, however, the benefit to the farmer/members remains.

Paul Neiffer, CPA